World Street | Nvidia plunges on weak guidance; Warren Buffett's Berkshire hits $1 trn; Yelp sues Google; Salesforce CFO steps down; and more

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway hit a $1 trillion market cap, the first non-tech US firm to achieve the feat. Shares of the Omaha-based conglomerate have surged 28 percent in 2024, outpacing the S&P 500’s 18 percent gain.

The milestone comes just before Buffett’s 94th birthday. Unlike its trillion-dollar peers (Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta), Berkshire thrives on old-economy staples like BNSF Railway, Geico, and Dairy Queen.

Google Gripes

Yelp has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant, just weeks after a federal judge labeled Google an illegal monopolist. Yelp claims Google maintains its local search monopoly by prioritizing its own inferior services, harming competition and degrading local search quality

Yelp also claims that the way Google directs users toward its own local search vertical from its general search engine results page should be considered illegal tying of separate products to keep rivals from reaching scale.

Weaver Waves

Salesforce shares jumped after the company posted strong Q2 results that beat estimates and raised its full-year profit outlook. Amy Weaver, the company's chief financial officer, will step down.

Weaver will remain at the company as the CFO until a successor is appointed and, after that, will stay on as an advisor. Salesforce will consider internal and external candidates, said Marc Benioff, the company’s co-founder, chair and CEO.

Optimism Overload

New Zealand business confidence soared to a 10-year high in August after interest rate cuts, an ANZ Bank survey revealed. About 50.6 percent of respondents expect the economy to improve in the next year, up from 27.1% in July, ANZ said Thursday in Wellington. Business activity sentiment also hit a seven-year high.

Growth Glitch

UBS Group AG downgraded China’s growth forecast for 2024 and 2025, citing a deeper-than-expected property market slump. The investment bank now projects a 4.6 percent GDP expansion in 2024, down from 4.9, and 4 percent growth in 2025, down from 4.6 percent, as economic momentum remains subdued amid the real estate downturn and tight fiscal policies.

X Ultimatum

Brazil’s top judge has given Elon Musk’s X 24 hours to appoint a legal representative in the country, threatening to block the platform if it fails to comply. The ultimatum follows X’s recent decision to close operations in Brazil while continuing to serve its 20 million active users.